In other words, CRNI is hoping for a national standard that operators can live with, as opposed to various standards now in place or proposed by other jurisdictions.

CRNI is throwing its weight behind the LEAN Act. LEAN will “provide consumers with a broad range of nutrition information including sodium, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, sugars, proteins as well as calories to help them make decisions that are conducive to their lifestyles. In addition, the information will be provided in a convenient manner in writing in the restaurant that corresponds with their individual dining experience such as brochures, posters, in-store computer kiosks and menus.”

One food issue on which all operators would like to see more government intervention is food safety. Check out this quote from Dr. Steve Nissen, who’s on President Obama’s short list to be head of the Food and Drug Administration. When asked whether recent food chain crises such as E. coli-contaminated spinach and salmonella-tainted peanut butter were the fault of FDA, here’s what he told Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture handles about a quarter of food regulation, and the FDA handles about three-quarters. Whenever you have more than one federal agency responsible for overlapping responsibilities, there are problems.

“You probably want to move the USDA responsibilities over to the FDA so that you have a single entity that's responsible for food safety,” Nissen said. “To improve food safety, we've got to have more inspections and random sampling. I have grave concerns about importation. We have to be in a position where we can protect the American public and make sure those foods are safe.

“The laws need to be modernized,” he added. “But also the FDA agency needs to be modernized. It needs a transformation and it has to happen quickly. I probably shouldn't say this but I'm going to say it anyway: I think it's a national security issue. We're terribly vulnerable.”

Scary stuff. But the good news is that food and food safety have moved to the forefront of public discussion, as they never have before. We’re not sure how these issues will play out, but we’re hoping there will be a net gain for restaurant operators. Let’s hope they start by getting a handle on the peanut-butter issue right away.